News release

From: The Lancet

The Lancet: Structured healthy-lifestyle programme boosts memory and thinking in older adults at risk of dementia, finds first major Latin American study of its kind

Older adults who followed a structured, two-year healthy-lifestyle programme improved their memory and thinking skills significantly more than those who received only general health advice, according to the Latin American Initiative for Lifestyle Intervention to Prevent Cognitive Decline (LatAm-FINGERS) trial, published in The Lancet. Gains were about 55% greater per year on overall tests of memory and thinking.

Latin America has one of the fastest-growing populations of older adults in the world, yet people from this region have rarely been included in major studies on preventing memory loss and dementia. The trial enrolled 1,065 adults aged 60 to 77 across 11 Latin American countries [1], making it the first large-scale brain health clinical trial of its kind designed for Latin American communities, taking into account different cultures, languages, and ways of life.

Study participants in the structured programme followed an intensive routine over the two years. They took part in supervised exercise four days a week and received personalised dietary counselling based on the brain-healthy MIND diet [2]. The programme adapted to local culture and included exercise sessions that drew on regional dances such as salsa and tango. Dietary advice was built around foods that were affordable and easy to find in each community. Participants also completed computer-based brain-training sessions, had regular checks of their blood pressure, weight, and blood sugar, and met in small groups to stay socially engaged. By comparison, the other group attended just four one-hour meetings over the two years (one in the first year and three in the second), where they received general health advice.

The largest improvements were in memory, with additional gains in planning and processing speed. These benefits held steady across age, education, ethnicity, and genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease. More than eight in ten participants completed the full two years, and no serious health problems were linked to the programme.

The authors say the trial shows that a culturally adapted lifestyle programme can work in Latin America, with improvements larger than those reported in comparable trials in Finland [3] and the United States [4]. They caution that the trial measured gains on cognitive tests rather than whether the programme ultimately prevents dementia, and that longer follow-up is needed to confirm a lasting clinical benefit.